Photographing product shots of the journals and various items I create is one of my least favorite parts of selling my work. It is often hard to chase the natural light around my house and the “ideal time of day” to shoot outside rarely coincides with my ideal time of day for shooting.

Add to that my desire for plain backgrounds and little to no shadows and reflections and I knew it was time to get a much needed light box into my studio. I found a simple set-up online for $99 (including lights) and was preparing to buy one when I decided just to try making one with a few inexpensive materials.

My DIY light box ended up costing me just under $3.00 to make—not including any lighting. It may not be the prettiest thing but it works just fine.

Cut windows out of the front and two sides of the box. I left about a 2.5 inch border around the edges to help keep the box sturdy and to provide a bit of space for securing the fabric to the box.

Cut the muslin slightly larger than openings for the two side windows and the top of the box.

Stretch the muslin tautly over one of the side windows and secure all four sides with tape. Repeat for the other side.

Cut the white poster board to fit width-wise and slide into the top of the box sloping it to the front to create a seamless background. Trim the excess board off the top. I secured the top edge of the board to the box but this really isn’t necessary.

Once your backdrop is in place you can put on the top of your light box. Stretch the last piece of muslin tautly over the top of the box and secure with tape.

That’s it! Now light it from the top and/or the sides for a nice diffused light. Don’t forget to use a daylight balanced bulb and to not mix lighting types for easier control over color casts.

Results? Below are a few shots taken with the camera on my phone (except the last shot which was taken with an SLR). Box is lit from the top with a single light. Not bad for a $3 light box, eh?

I kind of—okay definitely—addicted to wearing my baby. So much so that I regret not discovering the wonders of babywearing when G-tot was a baby. Thankfully I discovered how much I love it while Huggy Baby is still small. Even better is that Huggy Baby loves to be worn.

Double Hammock in a Hoppediz Chicago woven wrap

What I love so much about babywearing is the sense of closeness and security I feel with having my baby so close to me. Chest-to-chest and close enough to kiss is perfect for sweet baby snuggles. High on my back in a double hammock and he can see the world from my point of view and still snuggle up against me. Plus, when you wear your baby you don’t have to worry about finagling a stroller through crowds and tight spots or up and down stairs. At the park a few weeks ago Huggy Baby and I would have been stuck on the shore instead of skipping stones and exploring the dried up spots of the Maumee River with Josh and G-tot had we not been babywearing.

Exploring the Metroparks

At the zoo

See, babywearing brings families together. Plus, the different carriers seem to come with sleepy dust. Huggy Baby is so comfy when he is worn that he falls asleep almost every single time. It’s magical.

Sleepy Dust in woven wraps

It started with the Moby wrap which I wore sporadically for the first six months or so of Huggy Baby’s life. It was great but I knew I was barely scratching the surface of babywearing with it. Little did I know just how many options were out there when it comes to babywearing. Mei Tais. Woven wraps. Podageis. Wrap conversions. Ring Slings. Soft structured carriers.

WAHM WC Mei Tai (left) & GMBB gauze wrap (right)

And then there are all the different types of carries you can do depending on the type/size/length of carrier you are using. Front cross carry. Poppins hip carry. Double hammock back carry. It goes on and on.

Like I said, I LOVE it.

I even belong to a handful of babywearinggroups on Facebook (and on the internet in general) these days. These groups have been a valuable resource when it comes to learning about babywearing. Sure, it takes a minute or two to learn all the different acronyms for the carriers and carries I mentioned above. But no worries, the ladies in these groups are fabulous. So many of them are fiercely passionate about babywearing and are more than willing to share their knowledge with newbies and seasoned babywearers alike.

Nestled in my stocking this Christmas was a beautiful scarf. It’s purple and black and really soft.

I have no idea how to wear it.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. I did wear it like a wrap yesterday over the tank top I was wearing. Because face it, December in NW Ohio doesn’t really bring tank top appropriate weather. And sure, there are all sorts of tutorials on how to tie/drape/origami a scarf on Pinterest so I can probably figure out how to wear one.

I have been suddenly and unexpectedly overwhelmed with a knock-down case of depression. I’ve wept every day for an entire week. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach has left me barely interested in eating. I lost 4 pounds last week alone. That probably isn’t a good thing.

I just cannot shake this horrible sadness. It has consumed me.

So very sad.

And helpless.

I cannot feel the foggy veil of depression lifting. I don’t know how to make it go away.

This is the first time since March that I have felt like I might need to see my therapist.

They have a show tonight and this is part of what he will be wearing. Sure, the pumpkin is definitely a nod to Halloween but trust me, this is not the first time Isaac has dressed up for a gig. It won’t be the last—holiday or not.

As I scrolled through the literally tens of thousands of pictures on my laptop Sunday evening, trying to pick one photo that captured a particular meaningful moment, something dawned on me. The big moments in life—birthdays, weddings, holidays—are important, but it’s the little everyday moments that make life meaningful. Don’t save your camera for a special occasion—capture the everyday and those moments will be special occasions when you look back on them.

Taken on Sunday, this is an “outtake” of sorts from a series of photographs I take of my children to document them growing up. Each week—up to their first birthday and then each month—I take a picture of my kids sitting next to a stuffed monkey. Each one has their own monkey and it serves as a constant in the photos to see how the kids grow over time. Those weeks and months quickly add up, and these photos are evidence that time really does fly by.

On Sunday Huggy Baby turned 6 weeks old and as I snapped a few shots of him and his monkey G-tot sidled up next to his brother. So I took a few more shots of the two of them.

And when I look at that photograph I see a moment of pure love.
A new baby.
A new big brother.
The beginning of a life long friendship.
My two boys who will grow up too fast all the while experiencing countless everyday moments with each other.

I plan to capture as many as possible.

This post is sponsored by Kodak. October 17–23 is Free Kodak Prints week—a week long event designed to help you unleash your photos from your hard drives and Facebook albums by offering 20 free 4 x 6 inch prints when you “like” Kodak on Facebook. Additionally, to help celebrate Free Prints Week, Kodak is partnering with the popular Tumblr blog, My Parents Were Awesome, as a way to encourage people to print and share recent photos and those of the past.